Ten of these Top 20 players have already done so Young guns cards, from sets between Upper Deck Series 2 2023-24 and Upper Deck Series 1 2025-26.
Four other Top 20 players are expected to have cards in the 2025-26 Upper Deck Series 2 release (expected early March 2026): Zeev Buium, Michael Misa. Matthew Schaefer And Beckett Sennecke.
Ranking current play vs. expectations
Note that these players come from all areas of hockey, including the NHL, College, the AHL and Junior hockey. Furthermore, the way they created their rankings is not specific to how these players are playing now (since they play in various leagues around the world), but more to how they plan to play when they should reach their peak in the NHL. This means an age of 23/24 years for attackers, an age of 24/25 years for a defender and an age of 25/26 years for goalkeepers.
Understanding value of hockey cards
Two other questions to consider when looking at NHL rookie cards: which cards have value and what is the NHL’s age structure?
Goals and points have the most value among card collectors. Therefore, Centers and Attackers will always have the most valuable cards, followed by attacking defenders (known more for their scoring than defensive skills) and goalkeepers who have long dominant careers.
In terms of age demographics, there were a total of 56 players on rosters 21 and younger at the start of the NHL season:
- 21 years old: 27 players
- 20 years old: 13 players
- 19 years old: 11 players
- 18 years old: 5 players
Top Rookie Cards for the 20 best hockey players aged 21 and under!
Here are the rankings as created by The hockey news. Players with cards have the card series and number listed below their names. Also check out my article on the best Young Guns Rookie cards under $50 each!
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1. Macklin Celebrini, C, San Jose Sharks (19 years old)
2. Connor Bedard, C, Chicago Blackhawks (20)
3. Adam Fantilli, C, Columbus Blue Jackets (21)
4. Gavin McKenna, LW, Penn State (17)
- No Rookie Card yet, probably 2026 NHL Draft
5. Lane Hutson, D, Montreal Canadiens (21)
6. Leo Carlsson, C, Anaheim Ducks (20)
7. Ivan Demidov, RW, Montreal Canadiens (19)
8. Matvei Michkov, RW, Philadelphia Flyers (20)
9. Matthew Schaefer, D, NY Islanders (18)
10. Beckett Sennecke, RW, Anaheim Ducks (19)
11. Zeev Buium, D, Minnesota Wild (19)
12. Michael Misa, C, San Jose Sharks (18)
13. Anton Frondell, C, Chicago Blackhawks (18)
14. Landon DuPont, D, Everett Silvertips (16)
15. Artyom Levshunov, D, Chicago Blackhawks (19)
16. Zayne Parekh, D, Calgary Flames (19)
17. Juraj Slafkovsky, LW, Montreal Canadiens (21)
18. Tij Iginla, C, Utah Mammoet (19)
19. Porter Martone, RW, Philadelphia Flyers (18)
20. Keaton Verhoeff, D, North Dakota (17)
- No Rookie Card yet, probably 2026 NHL Draft
As you probably already know, we love player rankings because we can come up with our own rookie card rankings based on those lists!
Let us know which of these hockey beginners cards you picked up!
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